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90% of children wish their parents didn’t smoke

Government research has found that nine out of 10 children never want to try a cigarette and want their parents who smoke to quit.

A poll of 1,000 children aged between eight and 13 found that 96 percent of those with a parent that smokes wanted them to stop and almost two thirds would give up the chance of extra pocket money if they would quit.

Every week, 2,000 people die from smoking-related diseases and the latest data showed that children are now much more aware of the dangers of smoking. The NHS Information Centre found that the number of children aged between 11 and 15 who said they smoke regularly has halved since the peak in the 1990s.

Professor Terence Stephenson, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child health, said, “It is encouraging to hear that those children who were consulted knew the health risks related to smoking and the harmful effects of people smoking around them.”